Well for those of you that don’t own a super fanned-out case or have the ability to mod your own system, here is a fairly simple explanation on how to add fans to your rig can turn your poor hot, air flow starved system to a super blower in a jiff! All you need is some tape [any kind will do but good old masking is best] a drill, about a quarter inch drill bit and a jigsaw with a fine blade [metal work fine] If you need very accurate layout ,start by locating where you want to put the fan and put a piece of tape approximately at the center of where you want to put your fans then X the exact center with a felt marker . Start covering the area with tape,work up to your X then tranfer it and continue. This protects the surface and gives you something to mark your holes.on a clear panel you should be able to see your X’s through the tape. Start to layout your fans placement using the fans themselves making sure they are square to the sides of your case or cover mark the outside of the fan housing with a marker. You should have a square now. You can trace the opening your fan has but I prefer to find something the same size [like a can or plastic lid ect.] and mark the whole using your eye to center it. You should now have a square with a circle in it that looks just like your fans housing and its hole. Once you’re happy with the placement then drill a hole inside the circle you drew. Now take your jigsaw and start at your drilled hole and cut out the marked circle and trying to leave part of the line as a reference point for roundness[you will make it true with round file,dremel,sand paper ect later]. Now take your fan or your fan guard and use it as a template to drill the fan guard screw holes. Now check your work making sure your holes line up [I like a test fit] and everything looks good then file and or sand till your new opening is smooth and true. Well, you’re almost done. Just take off the tape clean and wipe off surface. mount your new fans and guards , plug them in and that’s it!!! Then just enjoy all your new air flow!! When making holes in a case that’s already loaded with hardware there are two choices. First is to take out all your stuff, the other is to use your old motherboard anti static bag and cover the area using pieces and or as a catch bag. Tape your protection in carefully and well. Just After that it’s the same process marking ,drilling and cutting being careful about removing wires ,harness and anything that could get caught in the drill or jigsaw. be careful when removing as not to drop shavings, not good for elec and it saves on clean-up time. After adding fans to my primary rig it dropped temps about 5 to10c,depending on room temp and load ect. The best bang for the buck fans i've found are Rosewells, they come with braided wire covers and very cheaply! Here are some pictures of the last couple I’ve done. ENJOY and peace all,dana PS. Open your PCI knock out covers like louvers , it helps air escape!! PS.PS.thanks for the help with the pictures guys , i figured it out when i woke up. guess I shouldnt post so late,D

Image Resizer from Microsoft's PowerToys for Windows XP can also be pretty useful.I have graphic programs, but sometimes don't feel the desire to load a big app just to resize a picture before posting them to a forum or emailing them to someone.

thanks pal! a steady hand helps for sure. after seeing your reply i added a little more info on how to get them that way. leaving part of your original circle,then work it to roundness. if you loose your hole line use something a bit larger make a new circle and gage from that. peace,D

martini161 wrote:wow, those are some pretty clean circles for a being cut with a jig saw!